Panic engulfed him. 'What happened? What's wrong?'
Their bodies were forcefully thrown into a vehicle, her shoulder bearing the brunt of the pain.
"Hey! What's going on?! Where's Bartwin? Something must have gone wrong," Ted shouted.
"Oh, Ted, you've chosen the wrong friend. Why were you foolish enough to snatch Bartwin's money and bring it back to his own turf? Do you think he wouldn't recognize his own money?"
"Money? Snatch it? I have no idea! That kid just asked for my recommendation! I have nothing to do with this! Let me go!"
"Shut up! Or I'll shoot you in the head right now."
"Ian! This is all your fault! I'll never forgive you! Having a child is nothing but trouble! Damn it!" Ted shouted at him.
Ian was stunned by the bodyguard's words. The money belonged to Bartwin? Roe stole from Bartwin?! And now their misfortune had led them to the brink of death.
The sound of the car engine drowned their thoughts. In the face of impending doom, time seemed to slow down, and Ian tried to savor every fleeting second.
The car came to a stop. The men dragged him and Ted to a place permeated with the scent of grass and corn. It seemed they had gone to great lengths to take them out of town just to eliminate them.
Their hoods were abruptly removed, revealing a clean and tidy room. Besides the two of them, several people were also bound and gagged. "Oh, no, no, no. Not again, shit!" Ted exclaimed, the atmosphere strikingly familiar to him.
"What?" Ian whispered loudly.
"You'll be praying for a quicker death. It's another twisted game for Bartwin's amusement. For people who are foolish enough to cross him, like you."
"I didn't know the money was his!"
"What kind of fool wouldn't question the origin of such a large sum? Do I have a son who is that dim-witted?!"
"You have no right to call me a son because I refuse to acknowledge you as a parent."
"If you want to survive, you'll follow my instructions."
"Do we even have a choice?"
"Just pray."
Ian couldn't comprehend the meaning behind Ted's words. Simultaneously, several of Bartwin's men brought in a series of iron beds equipped with towering cables. The captives were forcibly made to lie on them, their hands and feet tightly secured. The purple liquid was injected into each of their temples from a syringe, and Ian lost consciousness in an instant.
DING DONG DING DONG.
A distinct jingle, resembling the start of a game, echoed through the room. The seven of them awoke in an endless, dark space, no longer bound by restraints. Suddenly, a large screen materialized in the air, displaying information accompanied by sound.
[Welcome, players to the Apex Predator System.]
[Following this, you will be transported to an artificial ecosystem where you must confront an apex predator. You have only 2 minutes to determine various traits to survive. Death in the game is fatal.]
[The prize for this Apatite-level 10.3 game is... 1,000,000 pounds.]
Upon hearing that, Ian's eyes widened in astonishment.
[Good luck in the game.]
A gate swung open, revealing an ecosystem resembling a vast swamp. The dim atmosphere signaled the approaching dusk. The screen once again displayed information.
[The predators you will face are as follows:]
The screen depicted a bizarre creature with a four-legged body, a tail resembling that of a Platypus, Wolf's snout with sharp fangs, and Eagle-like spurs.
[You have 2 minutes to select traits, starting now.]
Individual small screens appeared in front of each captive, presenting various animal options to choose from as a potential countermeasure. Ian glanced at Ted, who appeared solemn, while the other six individuals followed suit. It seemed as though they had faced this particular situation before.
Ian and Ted got numbers 1 and 2 respectively.
"Psst! Hurry up and choose! If you die here, then even in real life you're just a name. This is only a once-in-a-lifetime chance, I was lucky enough to escape last time. Don't trouble me." Ted scolded him who still looked confused.
"Hey, is there only one winner?"
"No, the important thing is that you survive for the allotted time."
"Do we have to kill the predator?"
"If you want to end the game quickly, then yes. The faster the better."
"Hmm, then the point of the game is to survive until the end, not necessarily fight. Easy enough for me." Ian chose one of the animals, and Ted, who saw his choice, looked annoyed.
"Stupid! Why did you choose that?! Stupid, stupid, stupid! Arrgh, at least I can get rid of one problem in my life without having to go through my own hands," Ted cursed at Ian.
[Times up. Your time in this game is 5 hours. May you be the winner]
The dome-shaped room slowly faded and disappeared, and they found themselves in an open room. The other six people transformed according to their chosen traits and quickly ran to their shelters.
Ted chose the form of a Lion with wide Eagle wings. Uniquely, they could still talk to each other. "Hurry to the water according to your chosen trait! Fool!" Ted cursed again at Ian. Ian's body suddenly shrank, and he rushed towards the water as Ted ordered.
Ian chose to become a Squid. In a dark and very deep water basin, he hid while observing his surroundings. One of the participants seemed to swim above him, having transformed into a Shark with a Turtle shell.
The unexpected happened right in front of Ian's eyes. Like a torpedo, a beast lunged at the Shark from under its exposed belly. With its Wolf-like snout, it tore the Shark's belly, which had no time to defend its exposed lower body parts.
Before long, the Shark was dead. A giant screen appeared in the sky, its sound echoing throughout.
[Participant number 5. Failed. Time remaining: 4 hours 55 minutes]
'Damn, the first 10 minutes have already failed. No wonder Ted called me stupid, even though the traits chosen by participant number 5 were quite strong,' Ian grumbled in annoyance. Now, he waited anxiously in his deep alcove.
A Titanoboa from the bottom of the water swam toward the predator that was swimming on the surface.
'Yes! This time it'll work!' Ian cheered with excitement.
The giant Boa quickly bit the predator and wrapped itself tightly around it. It seemed like the game would end quickly as Ian saw the predator unable to move.
Because the Boa's heavy body was used to wrap around the predator, the two quickly slid to the bottom of the water. The predator didn't seem to budge as the boa tightened its coils, causing the predator's body to bend oddly. Ian thought its bones had been crushed.
10 minutes... 15 minutes passed, but the system never announced the winner of the game, even though from his point of view, the predator had lost.
Ian squinted to get a clear view of the fight happening 20 meters in front of him. He faintly saw the predator's neck expanding and deflating, and there was a tear in the form of a gill slit, like in Sharks. Oh, bad!
The Titanoboa's coils were stretched, and it was about to swim to the surface. But with its healthy snout, the predator held onto the Boa for air.
The long time in the water made the Boa exhausted. Five minutes passed, and the system again announced the failure of participant number 3.
Looking at the predator's traits, Ian began to realize his stupidity. He had not taken into account that predators can survive for a long time in the water. He should have also chosen the same traits as TedNow it was just Ian, Ted, and another person, number 4. He remembered that this person was also picking similar traits as Ted, choosing bird traits, but Ian forgot what kind of bird.
"Hopefully Ted won't think of fighting the predator and keep flying in the sky! He will survive if he stays up to 5 hours up there," Ian hoped.
Three hours passed as the system bell rang again. Ian listened with great anxiety. Although he and Ted had never been close and they didn't have a normal parent-child interaction, Ian did not expect Ted to die.
[Participant number 4. Failed. 1 hour and 20 minutes remaining]
"Phew... It's a good thing Ted still survived. Now it's just a matter of time. We don't have to face him directly because the traits I chose suck," Ian breathed a sigh of relief.
A message appeared on his screen. He panicked, thinking the message would reveal his whereabouts, but reading the message from Ted made him breathe a sigh of relief.
"This message will not reveal your whereabouts because it is private. Stay put for as long as possible wherever you're hiding. I salute you for surviving this far, poor boy."
"Mind your own business."
"You know, you're a pa-"
The message was cut off. As Ian replied to the message with a question mark, the message could not be sent. While he was busy wondering, the bell rang, and it was a nightmare.
[Participant number 2. Failed. 1 hour remaining]